My lonely road
by Farmboy28
Summary: Exeters untold story on his time on Aether. His meetings, his conflicts, and his intervention with the hunter.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: This is a fan-made story based on the Metroid Prime 2 Echoes™ video game franchise by Nintendo™. All characters in this story are the property of their respective owners.**

**This is my first fan fic, so please review and tell me what you think**

**Metroid: Enter Exeter**

**Data cycle 07.014.2 (Cosmos)**

**Final report, GFMC Task force Herakles**

**Exeter, A.C Commanding**

**While on patrol in the Dasha system, we engaged an unknown Space Pirate Frigate……**

Exeter woke abruptly in the middle of his sleep cycle, alerting one of his comrades. It took him several minutes to remember where he was. He was commanding captain on board the _Tyr_, an Anhur class State-of-the-art warship, patrolling the Dasha system. It took him another split second to realize someone was speaking to him.

"Captain? anything wrong?" asked Angseth, who had just entered the cockpit. Exeter looked at her for a second, trying to grasp what she had said, and replied, "No, I'm fine. Just… a nightmare, that's all… You should get back to your seat; sensors are picking up a disturbance. It could be trouble. "

The female comms officer simply nodded and left. While he was asleep, he had a premonition of coming danger. He glanced over to the troop seats, and saw them in their sleep cycles, undisturbed. He had the premonition several times today; in his guts, his stomach, and his dreams. It was as if his body was trying to warn him about some thing. But what? he thought. He had not seen hide nor skin of trouble anywhere, and the disturbance on his sensors was too small to even be a disturbance. Nothing could possibly go wrong. And that's when started to go wrong.

_**BOOM**_

A laser Cannon hit the ship, and out of nowhere, a space pirate ship began pummeling the _Tyr_, scorching the ships paintjob and causing damage. The ship violently rocked as Exeter began identifying the target. As the sensors confirmed that the ship was definitely of space pirate design, he hollered into the comm unit, "Code red! Code red! We have a Space Pirate Frigate on our tail! We are ready to engage. Get to your stations!"

He began a series of loops and weaves, doing the best of his abilities to shake of the aggressor. He then hit the inertial speed dampeners, which stopped the ship in midspace. The space frigate flying at nearly top, sped forward, now being the hunted. As it saw its chance of victory extinguished, it attempted to retreat, but he was not going to let that happen. The Tyr began blasting the Frigate, causing an enormous amount of damage. Exeter converted all energy from the shields to the weapons and engines, magnifying the ships strength. He was surprised that the frigate was still holding. Space Pirates ships were not supposed to be that strong. As the ship took more and more damage, the pirates aboard were becoming desperate.

BOOM!

The Pirates ships engines exploded, sending it plummeting toward a strange planet. Exeter checked his sensors, which showed the planet called Aether. Its skies were auburn, then changed to a darkish purple. He had never seen an atmosphere like this. His premonition seemed to be coming true. He gave chase and followed the Pirates to this mysterious planet………

…………**.The enemy Frigate was crippled, and crashed on the planet Aether. We followed the Pirates, but our ship was damaged by a storm by a storm as we entered Aethers atmosphere. Heavy magnetic activity during the storm disabled our comm Systems. Upon landing we split into two groups: one to set up an ops base, the other to repair the ship. Each unit was doing fine, no problem……**

**Until they appeared…..**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I sped up things a bit, to get to the main part. . I may add more later.Sorry, I also wanted to add a part about the other troopers, but I don't have any ideas at the moment. I may add it later also.**

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**My Lonely Road Ch.2: Ing confrontation**

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**_Until they appeared..._**

"Goddammit, can't they hurry it up?" Exeter he murmured thought. His platoon had been stuck on this godforsaken planet called"Aether" for seven days now since they followed the crippled Space Pirate Frigate that had crashed here. They had heard nor seen asingle piece of wreckage or any signs of Space pirates for that matter. The only thing they had encountered were the deadly insect like"SPLINTERS" and wildlife. They had just returned from destroying another Splinter hive, which for a strange reason kept attacking the base. The ship was still under repair since the storm blasted a gap in the _Tyr_. The amount of time to fix the damn thing was intolerable.The mechanics were chattering too much.

"Sheesh, shut up will ya. Man, you are such a kiss-ass I swear."answered Willis . The other named Grippes replied, "At least I'm not a good for nothing. With you here, I doubt this ship will ever be fixed."

"If you guys stopped opening your trap so much, maybe we can get off this planet!" he growled angrily. At the sound of his voice, they stiffened and hoarsely replied, "Yes, sir!" and instantly returned their attention toward the ship, only to continue whispering silently behind the captains back. Exeter then went to check on the containers status. As he was halfway finished, the data computer began beeping. It flashed from deep gray to a deep red, asignal of emergency. Something is wrong, Exeter thought as he raced to the data core. **#&4(&$# Trooper PFC S. Milligan: Critical condition. Armor ****plating breached, punctured in several areas. Heart unstable. Distress beacon activated. Medical assistance required. Gate ****Breach in sector 4. Breach in sector 9. Requesting assistance **it spat out over and over again. Just then, there was an explosion, followed by the sound of the thundering of thousands and the ear splitting shrieks of splinters.

"**SPLINTERS!"** hollered Willis,"there coming in fast! I need back up! I need back up!"

The troopers sprinted to the situation and began to fire on the insectoids, which were raining down on them. However, these ones looked different. Regular splinters were grayish, and appeared in small groups many a time. These ones were crimson purple, with the weirdest set of glowing eyes. They were bigger, faster, stronger, and more durable as the troopers soon found out. Exeter and his men fought valiantly, taking out many of these creatures. But they were woefully outnumbered by these violent creatures. One by one, the soldiers fell, each in excruciating pain, until only a few were left.

"We need more men! Grippe! Go report to base! Brode, beef up the defenses!".Griff roared. As Exeter blasted another group of splinters, he watched as one latched onto Haley.

"AAAHHH! Get it off, get it—aaauughhhh!" Haley screamed at the top of his lungs, and was attacked by another one.

"Haley down, Haley----Aaaarrgghhh!"Exter hollered as a splinter jumped on him. He wrestled furiously against it, but it refused to budge an inch. He said through gritted teeth, "Get…..Off… ME!"With stupendous force, Exeter attempted to push the thing off, only to have it stick its deadly crimson purple claw into his chest. Exeters strength fading quickly, he fell tothe ground. He felt like needles pierced his whole body.Exeter glanced to his left, just in time to see Brode be smothered by at least a dozen splinters and watch Haleys lifeless body be ravaged. The pain was almost unbearable; he felt his senses fading, his vision blurring, the pain dissipating, and slowly falling into darkness.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, this one is much longer cuz I had alot to write:) Enjoy

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My Lonely Road Ch.3: **Alone**

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_**If only...**_

"_Captain? Are you okay? Hold on tight everyone! Status report Reevs .Man, you are such a kiss-ass. There coming in fast! I need back up! I need Backup! Brode, beef up the defenses! Get… Off…Me!"_

The entire mission played in his head over and over again like a broken record. Again and again, he had to relive this seemingly endless nightmare, which was clearer with each time he saw it. Exeter's head was throbbing out of control, his chest was stiff, and he felt like he was going to fall apart. Exeter just wanted it to end; as far as he knew his men were dead, his comrades, his closest friends. The ship was probably destroyed from the recent attack, and there were no intelligent life forms here. He had survived, but had anyone else? How would he escape this dreaded planet? How would he stay alive until help came? He could barely even move. That is, if help came. He thought to himself, the once brave and courageous captain of task force Herakles was now trembling, fearing the next moment would be his last.

"NO" he murmured. He had survived. He had survived for a reason, and he would keep on surviving until he was rescued. He would not give up until his last breath. He would find survivors, if any, and wait until the day.

"I WILL!" he roared, opening his eyes, making them look as big as a pirate grenade. The next thing Exeter saw, he would never forget. Everywhere lay bodies of his fallen comrades. There surface were heavily scarred, almost unrecognizable with the many punctures scars and claw marks which covered there armor. Wreckage lay strewn everywhere with many splinter exoskeletons lying around like garbage. He turned his head to take a look at the ship, only to see no longer the _Tyr._ Large chunks of the ship missing. There were signs of a recent battle, indicated by fresh scorch marks on the ground and the burning smell of dead splinters. Exeter now realized that he was no longer pinned to the ground by his injuries, but by extreme shock.

Exeter attempted to lift himself up, but to no avail. He then consulted his scanner to identify all the injuries on his body. It took him another second to realize that his HUD was almost entirely gone! Exeter then remembered that it had broken during his struggle with that splinter. Using his left eye, he could see that his scanner showed that his armor breastplate was punctured. However, it was rather shallow, but needed medical treatment soon. It also showed that his left arm was fractured, and bone was broken in one area. He needed to get the medical equipment onboard. Exeter tried again to lift himself up, succeeding but it caused great pain. He slowly limped toward the _Tyrs _ramp, and using his right arm to stabilize himself.

He headed toward the storage area, where all troopers' personal items, equipment, and cargo were kept. He noticed that the sliding doors were open. Strange, Exeter thought. They were supposed to be kept closed at all times. He limped toward it to examine the doors closely. There were no signs of any damage, and certainly nothing that could have pried it open. He peered inside, gun pointed aimlessly. Exeter cautiously limped in: finding no threats, began searching for the med pack. He found it in a container right above Angseths personal things. He administered it on his leg, arm, and chest, letting out a sigh of relief. He had forgotten how good penicillin morphine felt; it helped numb all the pain and assured a fast rate of recovery.

The battered soldier let down his guard as the medicines soothing affects took over. After about a minute or so, the effects began to wear away. The pain was still numbed, but the warm sensation had ended completely. Now it was time for preparation. He stood up and began searching all the containers for anything useful. Exeter had a long road ahead of him. He first looked through Angesth's container, being the closest of them all. He searched through until he found what he was looking for.

It was Angseths prized beam sword. Exeter remembered one time when the proud female told him who she "found" the rare weapon. She was on Zebes, looking forward to stopping Mother Brain single handedly, when she ran into a battalion of Space Pirates. Her squad was able to surprise them, killing many until only the general Weavel and two elites were left. They attempted to retreat, but Angseth had different plans. She shot the general wounding him, causing the legendary pirate Weavel to drop his favored beam sword. The general looked at her with murderous glowing green eyes and fled quickly, leaving the blade for Angseth.

Exeter stared at the weapon and clutched it tightly in his hand. He would not forgive those creatures that slaughtered his friends, and he would not forget about them. Exeter quickly packed many other things, including Jim's spare missile launcher, a second GF assault rifle, food, extra ammunition, survival gear, and replaced his helmet and armor with his other spare armor. He made sure to download all of his info from his old helmet to the new one. As Exeter glanced through the hole in the ship, he saw the skies growing dark. Tonight is not a good night to go anywhere. They might come back, he thought. Exeter then took his equipment and headed toward the cockpit. He walked past the barren seats which once held his team, now empty, which he felt like inside. The cockpit remained untouched by the merciless creatures, so Exeter decided to spend the night there. He programmed the door to seal, to keep him safe from the outside world. AsExeter took off his armor, put his supplies away and set his sleeping bag, he began to ponder. He had had a premonition and it came true; yet he ignored it, tossing it aside and acted like it never happened.

If I had just paid more attention…then… they may have still been alive. All of this could have been avoided, he thought. Exeter felt the immense guilt over his head, making him facedown.

"If only……. "He whispered as he silently fell asleep under the thunderous storm.

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Whew, this took me some time to finish.Stay tuned for Ch:4 Preparation and theUnexpected

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	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, its a bit shorter than ch.3 R&R**

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**My lonely Road ch.4: Preparation and Unexpected**

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**_"Get it off, get it—aaauughhhh!" "Help! Someone help! Its eating me alive----aaauughhhh!" NOOOOOO!ARGGHHHHH!_**

_**SCRREEEEEECHHHHHHH………………**_

Exeter snapped open his eyes. He then sat up abruptly, pondering again. This was the second time this nightmare came back. This time it made him feel even more depressed, having to face the overwhelming guilt of surviving. Why? Why did he have to be the sole survivor? Why could not Angseth or Griff or Triplett or Milligan? Why could he not just have died peacefully with his comrades? Then again, he had asked these questions before had already answered them himself the day before. He had survived for a reason. All he had to focus on now was trying keep on surviving. He then remembered exactly where he was. He was in the cockpit of the**_ Tyr_** (or what was left of it) sealed up and safe from the hostile outside world. He also remembered GF soldier Protocols; if alone, survive. That's just what he had to do.

Instead of putting on his armor, he decided to modify it.His armor had barely saved him from the splinter attack, and it sure won't save him from the other dangerous creatures. Exeter pulled out an electro-drill and portable welder out of his enormous survival pack, and began improving his armor. Exeter added more layers, made it lighter, more compact, and capable of modular upgrades. Several times the near naked and exposed captain strided back and forth from the storage area, each time bringing out a spare armor suit or a piece of deadly weaponry.It seemed that the captain did not notice the space pirates located outside. Exeter alsothen shut the main ramp to prevent entrance by creatures and also used tarp to cover up the holes in the ship.

After about three hours, the exhausted soldier finished his work. He had started with a standard Gf trooper armor and weaponry and ended with powerful equipment. His armor was now three times as thick as his original. It once gleamed metallic silver, but was now a darker gray, with stealth coating to avoid radar and lessen the chance of capture. Exeter's visor was thicker, and had bigger memory space with the ability to send viruses wirelessly. It maynot be the pinnacle of Galactic Federation technology, but it would do.His main weapons, two GFMCrepeater rifles were upgraded for better accuracy, better range, faster firing rate, and extreme durability. His armor also consisted from parts of the ship, including the radar and scrambler. Exeter also put the emergency boosters to use. The beam sword he retrieved was placed in a hidden compartment in his armor for hand-to-hand combat. He was now fully armored, and ready for almost anything. Exeter would need to be to survive. However, he would need to "consult" with his computer for a moment. Exeter jumped into the pilot seat and began tapping on various buttons, attempting to revive the computer. After several tries, the ship's onboard computer went online.

"Hello, my name is Sheila, onboard computer of the _Tyr_. How may I help you?_" _it spat out. Exeter couldn't help but suppress a grin. He would have someone to talk to for now.

"Good morning Sheila, this is Captain Exeter. I need you to find all data files in the GF libraries on Aether please" he replied. It took several seconds for SHEILA to process this, and responded, "Good morning to you to Captain. I am searching through files now." She began displaying many files, until she finally said, "Little is known about Aether, except that a race called the "Luminoth" lives there. However, all communication has ceased with Aether for over a cycle. Attempts have been made over this time period to investigate this; however, all who entered the planet's atmosphere were never heard from again. The planet was then roped off and labeled unsafe and insecure. No notable figure or Senators have taken interest in the planet. There have been no disturbances till now. There are no more files on Aether."

Exeter digested this information slowly. There were supposedly the "Luminoth"that lived on this planet. Yet they had not seen a trace of these creatures once. They had seen some alien buildings, but they were all deserted. Exeter decided that his first mission was to see if any of these sentinels still existed.

"Sheila, I need you to record a log for me in the main computer. Address it to anyone who comes in this ship and checks the computer. I also need you to activate security systems when I'm gone, but leave the ramp down. Eliminate any Space Pirates that try to board, okay?" he said

"Where will you go?" the computer asked. Exeter stared at Sheila momentarily, and then slowly replied, "I'm going… to look for these luminoths and if any… survivors. If I don't find any, I'll come back. Oh, and leave the ramp closed. That's all for now, SHUTDOWN" Exeter watched as the screen turned black, and stayed there for a moment. He then exited, taking his weapons and some supplies, but leaving the bulk of his gear behind. He revised his plan, instead scouting for life forms and any signs of survivors. Rushing into unknown territory alone was inadvisable, and considered extremely reckless. He loaded his weapons and exited down the ramps. Exeter did so cautiously, not wanting to be caught off guard. He found no signs of threats; just dead bodies of his men. Exeter checked around, only to find them all dead. No survivors here. He needed to check the ops base. Surely someone could have survived there. Then Exeter heard it.

_**SCRREEEEEECHHHHHHH………………**_

He whirled around to see two Space Pirates talking to each other in their native, hellish language, scraping a looming wall with their lethal power scythes. They had caused the noise earlier, yet had notnoticed the lone trooper. How could space pirates have stayed here three hours and not hearor notice a single thing?He didn't have much time to ponder for a streak of quantum energy passed by, centimeters from Exeter's head. NOW they had spotted him. The it had hit him; Space pirates had a weaker hearing ability than humans. The two pirates who had their backs turned earlier whirled around, weapons pointed toward him. There was also a third, appearing from above a ledge. Exeter slowly brought up his weapon, and sprinted into action.

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Dun Dun Dun! Who will win? Improved Exeter, or Space Pirates? Found out next chapter: Ch.4: Survival 


	5. Chapter 5

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My lonely road Ch.4: Survival

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Exeter sprinted into action, weapons drawn toward the foe. However these Space Pirates were a step ahead of him. One leapt right in front of him, pointblank,quantum assault cannonblazing at fully capacity. Exeter was thrown back by the sheer force of the laser weapon, but recovered just in time. Exeter stared upward as another came down on him, scythe fully extended for maximux damage,preparing to rip rightthrough him. Exeter dodged it by side stepping, avoiding the stab. However, the swift moving beast had countered and landed its foot squarely into Exeter's chest. 

The crack soldier was flung into the data core, smashing the already damaged computer and turning it into a pile of scrap metal. As he struggled to get back up, two more of these hellish creatures began advancing on him at remarkable speed. Exeter's expression hardened. He (supposedly) had superior tech to these low level space pirates, yet they had the advantage. Why was he losing?

Exeter found out a moment later as they swung their power scythes. He parried them, but felt prickles of pain throughout his body.At the last second, he brought hisrepeater rifles to bear on the Pirates and began unloading shells. The Pirates were sprayed with dozens of bullet shells, momentarily stunned by the speedy counter maneuver and fell dead on the hard ground. Exeter stood up, only to fall down and land on one knee.

I'm still injured, Exeter thought. He and taken enormous amounts of damage during the Splinter attack, and the pint of penicillin morphine was nowhere near the amount needed to heal in a single day. He had forgotten entirely about it when he was modifying his armor. Exeter was so lost in thought; he almost did not notice that one space pirate was still left. And it was calling for help.

"Oh shit!" he said aloud. Exeter attempted to stop it from calling for reinforcements by loading the missile launcher and firing a missile at the lone pirate. Unfortunately for Exeter, the merciless beast had finished just as he fired the missile. It was killed instantly in the resulting explosion, but not before its distress signal was heard. In a matter of minutes, several beams of light came raining down. The beams hit the ground, revealing their contents. They were space pirates, but not the usual kind. Out came several heavily armored Pirates. Exeter took a few moments to scan these rare crack warriors.

These were Pirate commandoes, his scanner showed. They were armed with some of the best gear in the galaxy. They had speed boosters, a shield, heavy guns, numerous melee weapons, grenades, stealth camouflage and hosts of other weapons. Exeter had to be extremely careful now, for they were trained to specifically to hint down The Hunter. Unfortunately, the Commandoes had acted first. They disappeared within a blink of an eye, reappearing somewhere else. Exeter tried to lock on several times to these elusive targets with his missile launchers; however they evaded him at electronic speed, making it impossible for even his computer. He would have to rely on his rifles.

He began strafing the commandoes, occasionally firing a missile and doing his best to avoid them. As the battleprolonged, another squad rained from the murky skies. Great, more commandos, Exeter thought. He needed to end this quickly somehow. Every minute he spent fighting this lost battle, the more space pirates came here. Then it hit him.

The _Tyr _had some hidden auto cannons on the exterior of the ship that they had not dismantled. Activating them might give him a small chance. All he needed to do was say a verbal command and assign the target.

"Activate auto turrets! Target Non GF life forms!" He roared. The response was immediate. No fewer than twelve security turrets appeared. They directed their fire toward the unsuspecting commandos. It gave him the time he needed. Exeter began blasting the confused and disoriented Commandoes,blasting through their armor with his powerful rifles and getting headshots.

"Sheila, Reboot! Activate signal scrambler!" he shouted into the comm. He would not make the same mistake twice. As the last commando was being exterminated, a singlelarge beam of light came down from the fickle sky. It was another Space Pirate, but it wasn't a commando. As the light around it dissipated, it revealed the monstrous beast inside. It was unlike anything he had ever seen.

This one was bigger, stronger and looked evenmore lethal than even commandoes. It was humongous, nearly 15 meters tall with strange blue glowing body parts. Today was definitely not a good day. The giant took several steps toward him, making the earth quake underneath Exeter's feet. He fired several missiles, but did nothing to stop this colossus.

"Oh boy" Exeter whispered to himself. He fired round after round at the Space pirate, with no effect except make it even angrier. The thing then smashed its fist against the ground, causing a mini-earthquake. It sent Exeter flying backwards. As he struggled to stand up, the humongous pirate stood over him, ready to deliver the final blow.

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Will Exeter survive this new menace? Find out later in CH.5

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	6. Chapter 6

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**My lonely road Ch.6: Lost**

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The pirate stood over him, like a towering battleship, bristling with weapons, ready to deliver the final blow, and waiting. Exeter stood as till as possible, doing his best to be as still as a statue.

Somehow, it worked. As if by instinct (or the stupidity of the pirate), it seemed it had lost interest in Exeter for it started toward the ship, stamping on bodies along the way. It smashed the corpses, as if to make sure they were truly dead.

The pirate smashed the last body, that of Triplett and swiveled toward the ship. It revealed a long, deadly plasma artillery cannon and slowly began to charge it. Once the energy turned a crimson turquoise, it let out a devastating blast of super charged plasma.

It blew holes throughout the ship, causing irreparable damage. One of the wings was blown apart, falling into the seemingly endless pit below. The space pirate roared in triumph, beating his chest like an oversized gorilla.

Exeter was shocked at the sheer amount of collateral damage this giant had caused. Then there, on Aether, there an emotion grew inside Exeter. One that he had never experienced before in his life.

Exeter was thrown into a terrible rage, wanting nothing more than to kill the abomination. As the rage bloomed like a blood rose in his chest, he pulled out his beam sword and leapt forward to meet the giant, his battle cry sending chills through the beast.

He stabbed the energized blade into the pirates shoulder, causing it to scream in pain, and vainly to get Exeter off. Exeter than proceeded to sprint toward its right arm, which was flinging around out of control, attempting to hit him at all costs.

Exeter then pulled on it with all his might, until there was a violent **SNAP**. Its arm was ripped of, and the giant cried in agony. The enraged pirate then swung its menacing power scythe toward Exeter.

He blocked it with a mere motion of his hand, and smashed it with his other fist, sending large fragments in all directions. The hilt was still vibrating from that powerful blow, and it wiggled out of the pirates grasp, rattling on the floor.

The giant was now surprised; it had not expected such resistance and such power from one human. It then pointed its plasma cannon at him, trying to get a shot in. Exeter shattered it and slashed through the giant's left leg, causing it to collapse.

Exeter hit it with several fists, before delivering the final blow. He then leapt and sunk the entire beam into the Space pirate's heart. It eyes opened in shock, and it let out a roar of surrender before slumping down, and then dying.

The turquoise fluid exploded, sending it everywhere, and splattering on Exeter's silver armor. No sooner did he drop to his knees; he felt dead tired, and shut his eyes

Exeter began to stir, as the pain in his chest became strong and vivid. He sat up, wincing from the sheer amount of pain that was stacked on him. His vision was sill groggy, blurred like a drunken man.

Exeter lifted his arm, and felt thick ooze on him, with a light turquoise color to it. It took him several minutes to recall on his thoughts and memories. He had been discovered by scouts, and had to fight off several waves of space pirates and then an even bigger one.

But what had happened to it? He had done battle with it, but could not remember the entire fight. As his vision steadied, it all became clear what had happened to that giant. Everywhere Exeter looked, there was blue ooze everywhere.

Next to his feet lay a gigantic mutilated body, still gushing out body fluids. Its eyes were wide open, as if from shock; numerous weapons were utterly destroyed, including the artillery cannon and the power scythe, which was lay shattered like glass. Exeter could not exactly remember how he had managed to kill this pirate; he had been on the verge of defeat.

What had happened there, in that battle was merely a vague memory now, to difficult to fully recall. Exeter slowly stood up, not wanting to injure himself and limped aboard the ship. There was little damage to the interior of the _Tyr except_ for some holes.

Exeter had a nagging suspicion that another team of space pirates had boarded earlier, for some of his gear was missing. Thankfully, they had not penetrated the storage area, since its doors were still intact to Exeter's relief.

He entered inside and took another, larger dose of penicillin morphine. Exeter waited until the effects wore off before returning to the cockpit to retrieve the rest of his gear. It would not be safe to stay here anymore.

The space pirates knew of his location, and would no doubt come back. As he maneuvered through the slimy ooze, he noticed the beam sword. Exeter had forgotten about it and went to pick it up. As he examined it, he realized that the blue substance on his armor was gone, as if by magic.

Exeter could not ponder long, as he needed to move quickly; he could hear the faint whine of an engine.Exeter ran through the cavern located conveniently next to his ship, and headed toward an unknown destination.


	7. Chapter 7

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**My lonely road Ch.7 Discovery and Rage**

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Exeter traversed through the vast network of caves and tunnels, each time finding a body of a fallen comrade here and there. He was nearing the gate checkpoint, where he had stationed Angseth, in hopes of keeping her safe. For a reason unknown to Exeter, he was hoping to find her alive, even though there were no others. No chance. There, next to the holo-gate controls was her body.

"No." he muttered to himself. Exeter began ramming against the gate, doing his best to try to open this barricade. It did not budge a standard centimeter, not even wiggle. He pulled out the beam sword and in a flash, cut it down like webbing.

He rushed toward her perfectly intact corpse. Perhaps she was sleeping, or maybe she was in a coma, or knocked out. She couldn't be dead, Exeter though desperately. But closer examination of the body and the swarm of flies around it proved that she was indeed dead, but had not died to long ago.

His armor computer estimates she had been dead for thirteen standard hours. A small tunnel to his left and the claw marks betrayed the killer; a splinter. Exeter's heart nearly stopped, sending chills through his armor. He had been unable to save her, or anyone else for that matter. Exeter kneeled beside her.

He removed her helmet, letting down her long, lush auburn hair. Even in death, she looked tranquil. He removed his own helmet to get a better look at Angseth. As soon as he did, the smell of rotting flesh blasted his face, but he didn't care.

"I… I'm sorry…" whispered in her ear. He was having a difficult time letting out the right words.

"I couldn't… I couldn't save you… or anyone else… I'm sorry." He stammered, attempting to hold back tears. He touched her face, which vas cold, yet fragile. Exeter wished above anything that he could have saved her, but he knew very well it was not to be.

Then for a moment, it looked as if she smiled, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. Exeter too attempted to smile, but was unable to. He took another look at her, then put on his helmet and commenced digging a hole.

After a few minutes, it was deep enough to fit a body in it. Exeter looked at her beauty one last time, then lowered her in and covered it, patting the dirt on top to be extremely flat. He stuck a stick on top, and placed her helmet on it. On the soft soil, he wrote: ANGSETH R.I.P. He picked his gear and began to leave, but stopped himself. Exeter looked at the beam saber and held it tightly in his hands.

"For you…" he muttered, and walked away, with a single salty tear, glistening down his armor.

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Exeter slid for cover as energized bullets ricocheted past him. He breathed heavily, as he had to dodge the "zombies". Exeter had seen something extremely disturbing; the bodies of fellow GF troopers had come back to life, engulfed in dark purple clouds.

At first, he had thought that they had been faking death. He was wrong, very wrong. His computer scanner showed that the corpses were indeed dead, but were infested with some sort of parasite, which was controlling the bodies.

Once the "zombies" caught sign of him, they instantly opened fire, surprising him. Exeter fired a missile at one, and sent it flying. However they simply got back up if they were hit. He needed to get out of there, and fast. Exeter spotted a door just a few meters away, and dashed toward it. He tried to open it, but it was as if the door was jammed.

"Damn door..." he growled under his breath as he fired shot after shot at the door. The, as if by luck, it opened. Exeter dived to the other side, and was able to throw a grenade at the zombies behind him.

There was a great flash of light, several shrieks, then complete silence. He was panting heavily, and needed rest. In front of him about 50 yards away was an enormous tree with many giant pillars surrounding it. And at the base was a single door. Exeter decided to go through the door, to see what lay behind it.

As he walked toward it, the hidden cocoons burst, and out came several splinters. The rage that Exeter had experienced before consumed him again. He sprinted at mach speeds toward the first one and grabbed it.

With his bare hands, he ripped it into two, spewing green fluid everywhere. He sped off to the second and third and stomped on them like mochtroids. It seemed that this was the place of a splinter pack, as a dozen splinters burst out of there cocoons. Seemingly out of nowhere, a large alpha splinter appeared.

This alpha was good and riled up, but it did not matter to Exeter. He dropped everything he had (except the beam sword.) and stampeded the giant bugs. He tore through the first three with his left hand, and crushed another with his right.

He then activated his bema sword, revealing a pulsing yellow energy blade. The splinters were taken a back by the bright weapon, but renewed their onslaught with fury. Exeter did not hesitate, lashed at six splinters that tried to attack from the rear.

With amazing precision and agility, he sliced through all of them, leaving only two small splinters and the alpha. The alpha began falsely attacking him, cleverly dodging his blade at the last second, distracting Exeter from the real threat.

The two splinters jumped at Exeter's hand, successfully knocking it out of his relaxed grip, but also ensured their doom. No sooner were they squashed. Exeter took off, circling around the alpha and ramming into it from behind.

The splinter smashed into the forward wall and vainly to get on its legs. Exeter used his hand as a spear and penetrated through the splinter, his hand exiting through its "eyes".

The alpha splinter let out an ear splitting shriek and died, but Exeter wasn't through yet. He smashed its body until nothing was left but its sharp legs. Just as the rage came, it disappeared in record speed. Exeter looked at it one more time, picked up his weapons, gear, and beam sword and walked through the door.


	8. Chapter 8

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My lonely roadCh.8: Revelations

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Exeter walked through the small doorway, finding a curios looking platform. It seemed to be an elevator, since it shared distinct features of GF design, including a control panel and hologram in the middle to activate it.

This elevator was nearly 2 cycles old with signs of wear, but no defects or problems otherwise. He stepped in it, and immediately, the hologram disappeared. Exeter heard an engine fire up, and next thing he, he was rocketing upward.

The surrounding area was moving at an extremely pace, suggesting speeds of more than 150 kilometers per hour. However, The shear g-force was weighing him down. Had he not been wearing this armor, his entire body would have been crushed like an insect.

After what seemed like an hour, the platform slowly halted at the top, where it was stabilized by fins. Exeter had never felt so dizzy in his life; he cobbled off, nearly falling several times.

As he approached the energy door, he noticed two corpses on the side of it. They were elegant, long, and sleek, with minuscule arms and legs. The body looked very brittle, almost like dust as he touched one of them with his armored hand.

**SCANNING…**

**Bioscan complete**

**Subject is Luminoth species.**

**Scans indicate numerous beneficial abilities, including heightened reflexes, durability, psionics, and flight. Ability to generate and manipulate energy in unconventional and rather impossible ways. Dating scans suggest an age of 3.20 centicycles. This luminoth seems to have suffered various heavy injuries, and signs of digestive fluids are present in lower abdomen. **

Further scanning yielded more information; they were indeed the luminoth, and his computer estimated they had died about 1.8 decacycles ago, which meant they had been dead for some time. Something had killed these, "luminoth" and tried to eat it. Smelled like splinter.

After attaining this valuable information, he left through the door, cautious of any threats. But there were none, and the place proved to be empty. Finding no new life forms or problems, he moved on.

He then came into what looked like a chamber. There were four doors in each direction, but three of those were blocked by giant rotating walls, similar to the one near the ship. As Exeter walked forward, the wall in front of him slowly slid downward groaning, as if aware of his approach. He was now alert swiveling his gun here and there, to check for whatever could have caused this.

Even after his scanner brought up nothing, he was still wary of any traps. Then, he felt a deep sensation. Exeter felt a pull, wanting to go through that door. Was he mental or something? After several more minutes, his fear lessened, just enough for him to keep moving.

He cautiously walked through the turquoise door, to find another platform. Exeter stepped into it, and it instantly began to rise upward. There were wires hanging down the top, glowing an unusual red. The terror inside was still grabbing hold of his intestines as he prepared for the worst.

The platform came to an abrupt stop, revealing a door that looked no different from the one he came from. Exeter pressed himself against the wall next to the door. He could hear a faint humming from the other side, which could mean something was there, or wasn't.

Only one way to find out, he thought and ran through the door, holding up his GF assault rifle, waiting for a materializing enemy.

There was nothing there, or that was in sight, but a huge machine with butterflies fluttering around it. The mood felt so tranquil for and unknown reason, but he was still wary. Exeter took several moments to scan this large object.

**Object appears to be an Energy controller. Energy Controllers were built by the Luminoth to regulate Aether's planetary energy. Several wonders are powered by the Energy Controllers, including a weather control system. No other species are known to be able to build this powerful machine. Contains extremely high amounts of energy; unable to calculate precise amount with current equipment. Further information is unavailable. No more files detected on device.**

It seemed that the luminoth were living wonders, since they had built something so advanced and with so much energy, current GF technology was nowhere close to its power level. He had only seen such advanced tech from the chozo. Could they be related somehow? Exeter suddenly felt a strange presence, and then a whoosh of air go pass him. He swiveled and pointed his gun at a tall spindly creature.

"Freeze! Don't move!" he exclaimed; it didn't seem that it spoke English. It was a luminoth, Exeter first thought; a live one for that matter. After several seconds of momentary silence the seemingly harmless sentient the replied, "**Do not fear, I am U-mos, sentinel of the luminoth, I mean no harm. Please listen and hear of our world's peril."**

Exeter stared dumbly at the luminoth, utterly perplexed. It raised its right hand, and out of it appeared a planet, which seemed to be Aether. The whole planet was perfectly visible, like a GF High command hologram projector. Then, out of nowhere, a meteor hit it and the image began blinking and making an eerie noise. Seeing that Exeter had nothing to say, U-mos continued.

"**Long ago, a cosmic object fell to our planet, Aether, exploding with a great force. A rift was torn in time and space, and a strange power flowed over our world.**"

The planet in his hand began to slowly split into two, showing two worlds, nearly merged together, yet still separating moving back and forth.

"**Where once there was one Aether, there were now two. One of light………and one of shadow, each existing in its own dimension.**"

Then in his other hand, a creature materialized. Exeter heart beat faster as he realized it resembled a splinter with one extra leg.

"**It was the end of peace on Aether, for a new race was born that day on the dark world…one filled with hate and terrible power. They are the ing.**"

The Ing then became very violent, letting shrieks of rage and rearing up.

"**The ings are creatures of shadow and darkness, knowing nothing of peace or mercy. For decades, we stood against them…yet we now lie on the verge of defeat."**

The planet in his other hand than split into a definite two worlds, with some differences here and there.

"**When dark Aether was born, our planetary energy was divided, half for our world, half for theirs. Should one gain control of this energy, the other will perish."**

It flapped its tiny wing and hovered toward Exeter. In his hand appeared a great glowing blue ball of light.

"**A while before you arrived, the ing had stolen from us…one that collect planetary energy. With it they had weakened our planet to verge of collapse. But fortune has now smiled upon us, for the energy transfer module…has now bonded with another, an ally. With it, that person could help restore our world. But she cannot do it alone. You must ensure her safety. In return, we offer our allegiance and gratitude forever. "**

U-mos put down his hand and let the image disappear. It seemed that it had read his mind, for he said,"**Should we fall, the ing will look to the stars for planets to ravage and conquer. Your species could be their next victims. The ing have taken our energy to three temples. The savior will no doubt find them and bring back their energies to our temples. You must help her and us, or else all of Aether will fall.**"

Exeter then heard a soft beep inside his helmet, and a data file appeared.

"**I have updated your map system with the location of another temple. There is knowledge there that can help you on your way. I have also updated your translator module. You can now access devices and doors coded with violet holograms. Many lands are now open to you.**"

Exeter then closed the file, and stared back at the peaceful creature. It began to speak once again.

"**Prepare well for your journey. The ing now know you are here. The splinters you had destroyed earlier had been there second strike force. They will attempt to destroy you at all costs. **"

U-mos then pulled out two strange glowing diamonds like crystals. Using his psychic powers, he fused them into Exeter's armored chest. Exeter then felt a wave of calmness flow through him like spring water.

"**Use these to protect you. The atmosphere of Dark Aether is poisonous, and these light crystals will help you survive. In time, they will slowly heal you. Return to me once she has restored the planetary energy to a temple. I will aid you as I can.**"

He then lifted his long, slender arms up, making small droplets of pure light sprung from it and squeaked, "**May the light of Aether shine upon you!"**

Exeter felt a strange force go through him, and his sensor showed that he had been completely healed. Exeter was still in awe over the powers the luminoths had. After several more seconds, he began to head back through the door, unsure of his new mission, and quite strange mission.


	9. Chapter 9

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**My lonely road: Chapter 9

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"**Find your way to the Agon wastes, once the Agon plains of pristine beauty, now a wasteland with dreadful creatures roaming in search of prey. You are to ensure that the savior remains safe and completes the task we have entrusted her with.**" U-mos had told him. Exeter contemplated deeply as he walked on another platform leading to the Agon waste.

He was to protect this, "savior" and make sure she returned the planetary energy back to the light temples. It was rather confusing for him, owing to the fact that it happen to make no sense whatsoever to him.

Exeter would just have to do it to get off this hell of a planet. After the elevator platform came to a halt, he went through the door, to find another luminoth body.

However, this one was different. It was more of a turquoise color, in its wings and clothes. It seemed to be a warrior, since it had a spear in its hands. Exeter continued forward, through the door and to the wastelands.

His first sight of this barren place was that it was exactly as U-mos had described it: A desolate and barren wasteland with creatures roaming around. Here and there were flying bugs and creatures, then some giant centipede-like beasts digging out of the ground here and there. It really, really, sucked.

Exeter found his way up some worn away steps, skillfully avoiding the wildlife, until he came to a bridge with a giant, thing above it. It had three red circles, and his computer had no idea what it was. He crossed the bridge, and went through several more doors until he came into a enormous, circular room.

"**There, you must find the Agon temple, and enter the dark realm. You must defeat the guardian of this temple, and make sure she retrieves the energy." **

The words were still drummed into his mind when all of a sudden, a black-hole appeared in front of him. This surprise caught him off guard, sending him tumbling on the ground. After a few minutes of complete shock, he realized it was not a black hole; Exeter got back up and scanned this thing

**This is a Dark portal. Dark portals allow living beings to travel to Dark Aether without being disrupted and scattered throughout the interdimensional void. They are unstable, however, and only remain viable for limited periods of time. Some can be reactivated, while others vanish forever once they are used. The exact location of where a dark portal that cannot be reactivated may appear is random.**

So this is what the luminoth had been talking about. Exeter paused for a moment, unsure whether or not to go through. After several more seconds, he finally found the courage and stepped through the portal.

As he went through, the surrounding areas suddenly disappeared, and in its place were dark, murky, purple clouds. He was moving forward, yet he wasn't moving, and he was whizzing by at the speed of light.

Then he felt himself be split into tiny particle and shot through the clouds. Exeter flew out of the portal head first. He quickly got up, searching for any enemies and laid down his gun when he could find none.

Exeter looked around him to see a ball that resembled a giant black pearl in front of him, inside the "temple". It would have been truly unremarkable if there were not surrounded by three gigantic worms, which looked very much dead.

He also saw his surroundings, which was almost identical to that of before except in this one, everything looked dark. It was another version of the light; the dark.

Exeter also noticed a bright bubble around him, acting like a protective shield which was a good thing; U-mos had explained that Dark Aethers atmosphere was extremely poisonous.

As he examined the area around him, he saw an orange figure appear opposite of him. Exeter's jaw dropped. It was the Hunter. It was her, who had slain entire legions of space pirates, she who had the ability to destroy the metroids, single-handedly.

It was her, Samus Aran. Her armor was of a sleek orange and red and made out of exotic metals. There also was a bubble of light around her too.

In front of her were three floating red objects, which he identified as some sort of keys. They flew into the wall, which appeared to be some sort of locked door, which then slid downwards, allowing entrance for the hunter.

She walked down the ramp, and noticed the Samus's armor was now a more darkish color, most likely from the atmosphere. As soon as she reached the safe point, a light crystal, the door squeaked shut, and a tremor filled the floor.

The supposedly dead worm awoke, with two other companions with it. As soon as it spotted Samus, it lunged at her, but the clever huntress dodged it with ease and watched the worm burrow underground.

Exeter attempted to break the window in front of him, but was unable to; scanning it showed it was made of denzium, a very strong metal. His current weapons would not penetrate it.

He was forced to watch the ongoing battle, helpless, unable to do his duty. He watched as the hunter twirled through the air, landing on the ground and calculating her next move while keeping up a constant rate of fire on them. She really was a genius, able to defeat anything that crossed her path. The question was could she do it against three creatures of pure darkness?

After about another several minutes, one of the worms reared up and charged a dark energy. Samus expertly launched a light blast at it, causing the worm to misfire, with the energy heading toward Exeter.

The shot blasted a gaping hole in the window, and also provided Exeter with an open space to provide assistance. He carefully aimed his repeater rifle at one of the beasts, steadying it with his other hand, and calmly waited for an opening. After several more tense moments, he let rip at those worms.

A barrage of energized bullets hit the amorbis in its vulnerable mouth, causing it to collapse and dig underground. This immediately alerted Samus, and she whirled around to see a hulking armor clad figure in the distance.

She was unable to scan it since her scanner was short range, but it looked a dark trooper, but one problem; It was in a protective zone generated by a light crystal. Anything possessed by the ing would be unable to enter a protective zone because it would instantly kill it. This distracted Samus, and she just barely dodged another attack from one of the amorbis.

She quickly transformed into morph ball mode rolled into another light crystal, just before amorbis snuffed out the one she had just been on. As Samus reverted back to human form, she winced in pain and touched her ribs. Even with the light crystals, the poisonous air of Dark Aether was taking its toll on her.

Exeter fired another barrage from his repeater rifle, but it kept bouncing off the worm's thick hide. He then picked up and loaded his missile launcher, and fired off several salvos at it.

This attracted one of the worm's attention, and it charged up another deadly dark beam and pointed toward Exeter. He ducked for cover behind the denzium, hoping that it would absorb the hit; but it was then Samus chose to act.

Samus fired another charged beam of light, which hit the worm square in the face. This time, the dark blast hit another worm, which then toppled on another, causing it to let out a shriek of pain, and grasped the ball with its end.

With all its might, it smashed the ball against the floor and broke it open. In the process, all but the light crystal Samus was standing near was destroyed.

The three amorbis then retreated deep below the ground, never to be seen again. After a few seconds of rumbling, all was quiet. In the ball appeared a protective light barrier, with a floating object inside.

Samus walked to the mysterious thing, ignoring the pain from the recent battle, and realized there was an S shape on it like her trademark symbol. She touched the rotating artifact, and was immediately engulfed in light.

She was lifted into the air, and felt something go through her body. She then landed on the ground, with a much different armor. Instead of her traditional orange and red Varia suit, she now had what her sensors described as the Dark suit. It was built of many strange shapes, and was a deep mahogany; it made her look more like a robot.

She took the liberty of examining this new armor for several minutes, and realized that the light had disappeared. Her health bar was not going down as fast, which meant that the armor was shielding her better.

Then a door opposite of the way Samus had entered slid downward, revealing another door to the energy controller. But before she started for it, she looked around to find that mysterious figure that had helped us earlier, but to no avail; the person had already disappeared. She paused for a moment, and then made her way to the door.

Exeter raised his head as he watched Samus walk into the door. He waited several more minutes until he was sure that she could not hear or see him. Exeter leapt through the hole and landed lightly on the soft ground. He was still wary of the worms; they could reappear any moment. After making complete sure those nightmares would not cone back, he continued toward the door.

BANG!

Exeter felt a graze on his back and swiveled around as he fell to the ground. He simultaneously fired his two repeater rifles at the being, which it dodged. As Exeter stood up, he was shocked to see his target; a replica of Samus Aran. This one was different though. It looked much fiercer and deadlier than the hunter and was more of a bluish armor. He decided to call it "Dark Samus", since it looked so sinister.

I then charge its arm cannon, tilting it toward him. Exeter ran right at it, ready to defeat it.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10. read

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**My lonely road chapter 10: Return**

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Exeter let his automatic targeting system take control, pointing both of his repeater rifles at the look alike Samus's head. But before he knew it, Dark Samus had flown up and out of his sight. 

Exeter swiveled around frantically, trying to find dark again. He could hear a faint crackling noise, and then a gigantic blue energy orb came crashing down on him, landing extremely close to Exeter. The shockwaves of that blast slammed Exeter into the nearby wall. It greatly shook him up, but it also made him wary of his opponent. He then decided to scan this Dark Samus to find weak spots.

Scanning….

Scans indicate the presence of Phazon and the hunter's genetic material within this entity. She wears a version of the Hunter's Varia Suit, altered and augmented by the Phazon, a cancerous and mutagenic material within her. Primary weapons include the Missile Launcher and scattershot variant of the Power Beam.

Boost and Jump abilities are superior to yours and Samus's. The ability to generate Phazon energy shields is also present. She can also ram you with tremendous force generated by Phazon energy. Caution recommended. Scans also indicate slight battle damage. Such thing is almost impossible with the ability to regenerate by absorbing Phazon; she might have come in contact with Samus Aran and done battle. Origins point to Tallon IV. No weak spots identified.

Having superior abilities and no weaknesses to even the hunter was not a good thing. Especially not for Exeter. Dark Samus began charging her deadly turquoise Phazon beam, pointing it directly at him. Uh-oh, he thought, and ran as quickly as he could.

Exeter just barely dodged that blast by leaping at the last second; he was so close he could feel the emanating power of the weapon. The blast hita toppled light crystal, shattering it into a million little darts zinging in every direction.

The sheer strength of Dark Samus' power left Exeter in awe, but he kept fighting even tough he knew he would lose. Dark Samus was too dangerous to fight at long range; he needed to get as close as possible.

Exeter then pulled out his beam sword and activated his it while sprinting at Dark. The beam weapon seemed to have surprised Dark Samus for it lowered its arm cannon and simply stood there, giving Exeter the time he needed.

He leapt, ready to sink the weapon inside of this imposter but the Dark Samus was one step ahead of him; she created a pillar of pure Phazon energy, deflecting his energy blade and sending Exeter sprawling. As the smoke disappeared, Dark Samus still stood unscathed. He could taste a strange salty liquid in his mouth, and realized it was his own blood.

But then a great bang occurred. Exeter glanced over to look where the light crystal had been; hovering above the area was a portal. A portal to the light world.

Exeter had two choices; a) keep fighting and die a painful death while fulfilling his duty or b) Scramble like hell to that portal and find out later. He switched glances between the approaching Dark Samus and the portal. I think I'll take B, he thought, and immediately ran like the wind toward it.

Exeter could fell the energy beams ricochet past him, each time with a whooshing sound. As he closed in on the portal, he leapt and made it through just in the nick of time. Exeter felt himself shoot through time and space and light speeds; it was a rather dizzying experience. Several minutes past until he had the molecule sensation, and then being pulled toward a distant light. He landed on his ass first this time, on a perfectly flat and soft place.

As Exeter rubbed his aching posterior, he knew instantly he was back in the light version of Agon temple. But he wasn't alone. He heard a loud audible buzzing noise right behind him, and turned around to see several large wasps.

They looked very deadly indeed, with a foot long stinger mounted on its rear. It was a very frightening moment, and Exeter desperately brought up his two repeater rifles to bear on this winged insect. He blasted it into dozens of large chunks, and promptly took off running, with a hoard of buzzing behind him. Exeter did not stop until he made inside the door, gasping and shutting the door.

**"Once** **she has restored the power a temple, report back to me. I will assist you as much as possible**." the luminoth had told him. He now needed to go inform the U-mos, even tough he wasn't entirely sure Samus had. Oh well, he thought, and the tired and battle scarred soldier made his way back to the temple.

Samus exited the dark Agon temple with the planetary energy, and headed back toward light Aether. As she went through the door, she noticed that the ramp she had come through earlier was blown to bits; only a small piece was left hanging. Also, there were scorch marks all over the walls, and all of the light crystals were missing; there were pieces of a destroyed one scattered on the floor, twinkling in the dark. Someone or something had fought here, and took off rather quickly.

But what? Samus did not have much time to think about; she needed to recharge her ammo and replenish her health. She then went through the walkway on the side of the temple, and continued back toward the light world.

Exeter walked warily behind a storage container next to the temple transport. He had spotted a group space pirate commando and didn't want to take any morechances. He laid himself flat on the open ground, positioning himself in the best possible firing position. He had one commando in his sights, when all of a sudden a two legged beast smashed through the thick foliage. It let out a mighty roar, and hurled himself at the surprised pirates.

One was instantly incapacitated by the creature's elongated horn, and was tossed onto a wasp's nest. The other commandoes scattered, apparently not wanting to suffer the same fate, and were not seen again. Thank goodness, Exeter thought. Know only this thing stood in his way, so he scanned it for weak points. It looked oddly familiar…

**Scanning **

**The amphibious Grenchler lurks in marsh areas in search of prey. However, some wander in the Agon wastes looking for better prey. Fearless, it will spring from hiding and attack anything that moves. If it's unable to fell its prey with its powerful jaws, it will fire a potent burst of energy at them. Grenchlers have one weak spot - a genetic defect makes the shell on their back susceptible to explosive blasts. Remove the shell to expose a vulnerable nerve center, and then target it to eliminate the creature. **

Exeter could just see the weak spot, a small, fleshy area right above the tail. He carefully aimed his missile launcher at it, and set the missile and high power. He waited until the beast let down its guard and fired. The missile swam toward its target, and blew off the Grenchlers entire tail section.

It yelped out in agony, and in the process spotted Exeter. It let out another blast of energy and destroyed the crate next to Exeter, revealing a power bomb. Exeter picked up the power bomb, and flung it at the approaching Grenchlers. Its greedy mouth opened to except it, and crushed it with massive force, setting off the bomb.

It exploded in a spectacular of explosions, incinerating the Grenchler entirely. Nothing was left but charred remains. Exeter hurried through the door and up the elevator, hoping to avoid the space pirate welcoming committee knowing that they would "investigate".

After several more minutes of climbing, walking, and running, he finally made it back to the chamber, where the luminoth was. Just as he was about to speak, a ray of light came through and entered the light sphere hovering above the planetary energy controller. U-mos looked down on Exeter and said, "**Well done. You have succeeded in the return of Agon's planetary energy. There are now only three more needed."**

"**You must now head to Torvus bog, once a lush and beautiful forest of life, now a swamp filled with hideous creatures."**

U-mos raised both of his hands, revealing a trio of ing in each. U-mos then stated, "**I have detected an increase amount of ing in the Torvus region. The ing suffered a blow at Agon; they will now stop at nothing to defeat you."**

Exeter heard a soft beep and knew what had happened as U-mos said, "**I have updated your map system with the location of another temple. There is knowledge there that can help you on your way. I have also updated your translator module. You can now access devices and doors coded with orange holograms. Many more lands are now open to you. I also have something for you.**"

U-mos opened his hand once more to reveal a ball of glowing light; similar to that of the transfer module, except it was a bright yellow.

"**Take this with you on your journey. While you were away, I had constructed this to assist you. It is the energy manipulator module. It allows you to locate the planetary but also something else; it allows you to use the planetary energy to increase your strength and to ride on beams of light. You also haveaccess to new abilities, whichyou will slowly learn to use.There is one catch; you must be in within the perimeter of the energies. This limits you to the four lands; Agon wastes, ****Temple** **Grounds****, Torvus bog, and Sanctuary. Stray too far, and the power cannot be used. The closer, the more powerful. I will also build new items for you to fight against the ing more effectively."**

He then let it loose and fly around before combining with Exeter like the crystals. U-mos raised his hands and bellowed, "**May the light of Aether shine upon you!"**

Exeter felt the strange force go through him once again, and his sensor showed that he had been completely healed. He then walked out, with another mission and new thoughts on his mind.

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**Exeter must now head to Turvus bog, in hopes of protecting to soon due to arrive Samus. But what about the ing? Dark Samus? Will he be able to defeat a formidable newfoe and protect the light? Find out the next chapter!**

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	11. Chapter 11

**Yeah... I still have writers block, so it took me quite awhile to piece this together.**

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**My lonely road Ch.11: Doubts and Techniques

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General Rookis Smythe stared at the planet Aether through the transparisteel windows of the G.F.S Mercy. He watched as two warships entered its constantly changing atmosphere. Evers since they had arrived, Rookis had had a bad feeling in his guy.

First, Task force Herakles had been lost on that planet, and the rescuer, Samus Aran had not made contact with them for nearly an entire day. Now he was responsible for finding what happened to both of them.

The two anhur warships carrying two heavy assault and recon teams were now merely specks and soon disappeared into the dark clouds with a small poof. Rookis was hoping very much they were not dead; it would only mean more tedious paperwork and the acceptance ofhis grandsons death. And he didn't want that.

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9 hours later

Exeter woke up from his sleep cycle, and opened his bloodshot eyes. He had only gotten several hours sleep, having to stay alert in case of ing or pirate activity. Exeter had arrived at Torvus bogs, but had been so exhausted from his other mission that he had nearly collapsed and decided to sleep next to the blade pods behind the elevator.

He stifled a big yawn, packed up his things for another day, and walked through the door. The stench was horrible, even though it was filtered through his helmet. Exeter was glad he had slept next to a giant air filter. He spied several shriek bats just as he was about to walk across the shallow waters.

Nasty creatures they were, using the element of surprise and then acted like kamikazes and flew toward you, then exploding when they make contact. Exeter had met with them before, and they had rewarded him with heavy damage.

He blasted them quickly with his missile launcher. Behind there charred remains were a strange looking eyeball. Exeter scanned it and his scanner revealed it was some sort of camera used by the luminoth and that the ones in working service were used by U-mos.

So the oversized moth was watching him, he thought to himself. He walked into the next area, with a warrior luminoth next to several blade pods. He examined the body, to find that it had been pierced all over the torso region; the ing must have overwhelmed it. Exeter saw three doors, and headed through the one right next to him.

He climbed the ledge and entered, revealing a health replenisher unit. The exhausted Captain limped over to it as quickly as he could, and collapsed in it. It instantly healed Exeter 100, and even cleaned his armor.

He was very grateful that the luminoth had built these machines too, and swore to never call the luminoth, oversized moths. Exeter decided to checkmark this room for later use.

He slowly got up, and exited, fully refreshed. The swamp was as dark as ever, with heavy acid rain and the occasional thunder falling down from the crimson purple clouds.

The small bridge that led to two different doors was too far for him to jump with without a jetpack. Exeter then decided to use a technique he picked up earlier to reach the other ledge. Exeter charged himself up using the E.M.M (energy manipulator module) until he glowed a vibrant red and rocketed toward the blue door.

He smashed into it with tremendous force, forcing the door to open. Exeter was now wishing he didn't, as a giant, ugly face appeared on the other side, staring straight at him, breathing unpleasant smelling nitrogen into his face. It was another Grenchler. _Note to self_, he thought, _hate Grenchlers. If I ever come back here, I swear I'll kill'm all. _He let out a cry of surprise and terror, taking off for the other door.

The Grenchler followed not to far behind, and zapped Exeter on the ass with a burst of energy. He fired several random shots behind him, and then blasted the door.

Exeter slid threw, and watched it seal shut just as the Grenchler was about to enter. It slammed into it, and Exeter could hear a muffled screech. He panted heavily; sweat dripping down his face profusely as the Grenchler slammed into the door again and again.

As Exeter was just about ready to wet his boxers when the hammering stopped. He let out a sigh of relief, when all of a sudden he heard a stifled sound of another burst of energy.

The door changed a dull grey, and slid open, revealing an angry Grenchler. Exeter stumbled on the ground as it charged forward. Exeter could do nothing but shield his face with his hands, and take the death blow.

Then a bright beam of red light appeared in front of him, hitting the Grenchler head on. The light momentarily blinded him, and then disappeared just as quickly as it came.

As Exeter peered to look at where the Grenchler had been standing, and realized that only its stocky legs remained, smelling of charred wood. Exeter stared at his hands, which were sizzling yet undamaged. He than remembered what U-mos had told him; **"You also have access to new abilities, which you will slowly learn to use." **

This was what U-mos had been talking about. Exeter now had abilities he was not aware of at the moment that he would be able to use later. He now knew the true power the luminoth held.

But this new strength brought many questions onto him. If the luminoth had such amazing powers, why were they on the verge of defeat? Were they simply using him for something? Was this some sort of test?

_I'll ask him when I see him again_, he thought to himself. Exeter then took the time to discover his surroundings. It was a small area, with a large rusty bronze bridge above him, and several different color coded doors in different directions.

And there was another wall. Its insides were spinning in a constant motion, like a cog in a machine. Located in the middle was a cobalt hologram. Exeter quickly scanned it from a distance.

**Scan complete. Area access approved**

**Through peace and prosperity, we create vigilance.**

The small hologram slowly faded away, and the door groaned as it slid downward, revealing yet another turquoise door. But before he could walk through, the door went into lockdown mode. Exeter could hear a humming behind him, and turned around to see two commandoes appear out of thin air.

But somehow, they were different. There armor was a darker black, and had a dead look in their eyes, and then it hit him; they were ing possessed. This intrigued him very much, and decided to scan them quickly.

**Bio scan complete**

**Identified as Dark Pirate commando**

**The Ing prize the few Pirate Commandos they manage to take alive. Only Hunter Ing are allowed to possess the Commandos, and the competition fir that right is fierce among them. The Hunter Ing ability to phase out of local time space carries over to the Dark Pirate Commando. They will fire bursts of dark matter at enemies, along with experimental EMP grenades stolen from the Space Pirates. **

No sooner did he finish than they disappear. Exeter looked around wildly, but could not see them. Then one of the commandoes tackled him and pinned Exeter too the wall.

It pulled out its Dark Energy bladegun and slashed him with it repeatedly over his chest plate. Exeter could feel every hard hit to his chest, each time it felt like he got hit by a speeder at top speed.

He then pulled out his small Deaft handgun and emptied an entire clip into the commando. The laser rounds halted the ing momentarily, who was now frozen in a thin sheet of artificial ice.

He then reversed the hold using another shine spark, sending the commando shattering into the wall, knocking it out cold. Exeter then fired both of his repeater rifles at the other one, but it phased out just in time, and appeared beside his unconscious comrades body.

Exeter threw a big bang grenade at them, landing at their feet. The ing wasn't so lucky this time, and the big explosion sent both of the commandoes flying. Exeter emptied another clip into their bodies, until he heard a familiar click; he was out of ammo.

He reached into his ammo pouch and discovered it was empty except for one clip. He then remembered that he had lost the majority of his ammunition when he was escaping Dark Samus.

Now what would he do? He had a mere one clip of ammo, and Exeter was sure it was not going to last him through at least two days. Then he saw one of the commandoes struggling to stand up, using it's bladegun as support.

Exeter absentmindedly went over there, and swiped the bladegun from the ing's weakening grasp. The commando collapsed onto the hard, damp ground, groaning in agony. Exeter stabbed the blade into the pathetic thing and it ceased to move. Now he had a new weapon with unlimited ammo. Not to mention light.

With both opponents dead, the doors unlocked, including the door Exeter was going to go through. He hastened over there not wanting to repeat the last incident, and entered.

Inside was a small ball, which he quickly realized as an NTU 150 holomessage droid, a GF design. Laying strewn next to it were equipment and bodies; GF trooper bodies. There green armor identified them as Recon and scout units.

His armor computer estimated that they had died a standard hour ago. Closer examination of the equipment showed that they had used this room as a base of operations, and examining the bodies showed that they had been killed indirect battle, as there were scorch marks on there suits. Exeter kicked the small antiquated droid, and it instantly began playing its holomessage with a hologram. A small holographic GF trooper appeared.

"If the captain or anyone of our team finds this, they will know we did our jobs, to the end..."

**Was this the second rescue force? Who are these men? What happened to the rest of the group? Find out next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A bit smaller than usual and no actiondue to lack of ideas**

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My Lonely Road Ch.12: Forgotten?**

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**Data cycle 08.0456.0 (Nebula)**

**Final report, GFMC Task force Pity: Recon 2**

**Oda, S.B Commanding**

Exeter kicked the small antiquated droid, and it instantly began playing its holomessage with a hologram. A small holographic GF trooper clad in yellow appeared.

"If anyone finds this, they will know we did our jobs, to the end..."

The soldier nervously glanced over it's soldier as the sound of bullets pierced the air.

"During our entry into Aether's atmosphere, a storm occured and severely damaged one of the ships. The **_independence _**took enormous amounts of damage and we were forced to make an emergency landing on the periless lands below us."

The hologram disappeared and in it's place it showed a strategic view of two ships plummeting toward the ground. The first one landed roughly, skidding several meters before coming to a halt. The second one was different altogether; it smashed right into the ground at full force with high flames engulfing it.

"We lost half of the crew of the **_Independence_** and 75 of the supplies inside. After setting up a small base and salvaging what we could, our goal was to first contact Command and inform them of our situation. Heavy magnetic interference blocked our distress signals. After many days of hopelessness, we gave up. After further reconnaisance of the surroundng area, we confirmed it as the Agon Wastes."

Another picture showed a barren wasteland with the two same ships, but different from any area he had been too.

"But here, we faces by endless perils; We were constantly attacked by the fierce wildlife, and were shown no mercy when Space Pirate Scouts detected us. After only several hours, we prepared to relocate the ship and destroy the remains of the Independence so that they could not use it.

Two hours before we were scheduled to leave, we discovered a Space Pirate base. It seemed that their had been a battle earlier; Space pirate trooper bodies were strewn everywhere and all was silent."

The next hologram was through the visor of a GF trooper, showing dead bodies everywhere.

"We were very lucky, we were able to retake several undamaged trooper shrikes and after gathering more men, stormed the base. Very few Alive pirates were left, and we finished them off quickly. We then encountered metroids, and were able to capture a few withmoderate casualties.

As we progressed even farther, we found a portal in the command room. Reading one of the pirate panels, it showed that this portal was a door way to, 'Dark Aether', a mirror image of this world. As soon as we found this out, we were intruiged, to the point of activating it. One man went through and disappeared instantly. So did the portal."

Another image showed one of the men walking through, shortly with the portal disappearing.

"We are unable to activate it again, and his fate was unknown. We continued on to see a shocking battle; Samus, fighting herself a dark version. When Dark Samus (what we named the doppleganger) was defeated, it exploded.

Our men quickly left, not wanting to be caught in the explosion, and quickly went back to the ship. After another few minutes, we left to find a new refuge."

Exeter watched as the image of the ship slowly disappeared from sight.

"We found our new base in a swamp, when the ship was shot down by some unknown entity. We landed at a giant arena like area. It seemed the whole rescue mission was doomed to fail.

Soon after, the ship came under siege by unknown creatures that resembled space pirates. I was able to save some of my men, but... Many fell victim to those mad beasts."

Again, another angle from a trooper visor (possibly that of the speaker) watching what Exeter recognized as Dark Commandoes tear apart the men, who fired on them.

It then showed some men exiting through a narrow hall. There were many shouts, grunts and screams, until they finally exited into the room out side and then ran into the one Exeter was currently in.

There they were silent, until the view fizzled out and the Trooper was back in sight. The gunfire had grown substantially, along with the sounds of death and destruction.

''This may be our last stand. If anyone finds this, please deliver it to my wife, Sinasta if you are a member of the Galactic Federation. I beg of you. Oda Silas Bole over and out", and the probe shutdown.

So the G.F had sent another rescue force; just as ill fated as Herakles. Exeter picked up the probe and looked through the eyes of the soldier who had delivered this message and examined him; he had taken several plasma blasts through the chest.

Exeter then removed the grimy smudged helmet. He closed Oda's eyes, wide open in fear, and then placed the helmet back on and walked out, more miserable than ever. Exeter walked to the door to the hallway, and proceeded through.

It was much thinner than Exeter had expected; it was barely a 4 feet wide. He slowly squeezed himself through, unti he finally popped out on the other side. He treaded carefully, as there might be more Commandoes there. Exeter slipped through the door to find a gigantic stadium; and in the middle, sat an Anhur class warship with several shrikes.

And laying everywhere were dead bodies; dead soldier bodies being pummeled by the merciless acid rain. Exeter examined each one carefully, making sure they were all certainly, dead. Satisfied there were no living, he went inside the warship. It wasn't as bad as the Tyr, most of the systems being intact and operational. Exeter moved through the ship until he came to the storage area.

In side was a Mark III suit, damaged, but still a suit of armor. He checked the internal computers, to his dismay, that it was totally destroyed. He was about to check the items in this room when the arm caught his eye. The mechanized arm was still carrying an operational weapon. Exeter scanned it to see it's use.

**Scan Complete**

**Weapon is Ete-3 Cannon. Light weight long range cannon usually used for Mark III suits. The ete-3 is a quick and reliable LWMC (Light Weight Multipurpose Cannon) and one of the best weapons in the galaxy. They are rather cheap, use no ammunition, has high firing rate 600 SPM (Shots per minute) and a hidden bayonet. The Space Pirates prized the few to could keep intact.**

Exeter had heard of these before. The G.F Command had been planning to replace the outdated Repeater Rifle with ete3-cannons for years now. He then made a quick descision; he dropped the gunblade and bulky repeater rifles on the spot, making a loud thunk. Exeter then pulled the ete-3 cannon off the armor successfully, and examined it some more.

It was extremely light, and was arm mounted, just like the repeater rifle. He tested it out, firing several shots down the ramp at two crates. They were incinerated instantly with its content. This thing would have great uses...

Tink tink

Exeter whirled around to look at the cockpit; it was sealed. He walked over and tapped the door lightly, and it opened up, revealing a metroid. However this one was red, instead of it's usual green as Exeter had seen before. Right next to it was an egg. Exeter's mouth drop; How did the Space pirates manage to get one of those?

Hepicked it up andstared at the egg, which rocked gently back and forth, nearly transparent. It was rare to find a metroid, especially a an egg; if he could stay alive long enough to take it back to command, he would be welcomed back as a heroANDget a hefty sum of money.

But it wouldn't be safe with him. Exeter quietly layed it back down and pulled out the other metroid before sealing the door again. He didn't want to alert anymore beings of his existence, so he left everything the way it was.

Maybe after the next energy controller is repowered, I'll bring it this U-mos, he thought. Exeter decided to put this little death machine back to the replenisher, where it would stay until he returned. He slowly walked back toward the narrow hall, thinking of his shifting luck. He lost his saviors and gained valuble information and recovered what could become large amounts of money.

He had to admit, he was starting to like it.

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**Who says no one is greedy? What will happen to that egg? FInd out next chapter!**

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End file.
